Gaming (Bingo) Bill (Hansard, 7 June 1985)

Lord Morris
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time.
At the outset, I should first like to thank my noble friend the Chief Whip for giving time for this small but really quite important measure. As your Lordships will be aware, the Short Title indicates, as indeed the Long Title states, that this Bill is nothing other than a small amendation of the principal Act; namely, the Gaming Act 1968.
As your Lordships will be aware, Clause 1 simply provides that licensed bingo clubs may play a game of multiple bingo, which is referred to in the Bill. This is played quite simply by means of computer link-up between clubs in order to ensure that the total stake in the game is raised to the permitted maximum of some £50,000, which is referred to in Clause 2 of the Bill. As your Lordships will be aware, under the principal Act there is a restriction on the total prize money, which has now been increased to this maximum figure.
The immediate question of course is: why is this necessary? The answer can be seen very clearly when one looks at the background to the Bill. It is simply that the licensed bingo industry is in decline. Attendances are falling, clubs are closing and the trade associations—namely, the National Association of Licensed Bingo and Social Clubs and the British Bingo Association—wish to stem this decline. Noble Lords may ask why this is so important. The reason is very clear. As is suggested in the title of one of the trade associations—namely, the National Association of 966 Licensed Bingo and Social Clubs—bingo provides a very important social activity for a considerable section of society: in the main, women (the average age of whom is 52) who have a very limited opportunity for any other social activity. I believe that we should be very careful about sneering at this particular form of intellectual recreation, or re-creation, because various studies have shown that it provides—and Gilbert put it rather nicely—a source of "innocent merriment" to some 350,000 women throughout the country. I believe that your Lordships should welcome very strongly indeed anything that can be done to encourage this particular leisure activity.
I have taken the trouble to go to a bingo club and watch it in operation. I was astonished at the mental agility of some of these ladies who managed to supervise, if that is the right word, some six cards simultaneously, while at the same time discussing the merits or otherwise of their various spouses, whereas I had severe brain ache operating just one card; but that is beside the point.
I believe that the Bill handles this problem with simplicity and clarity. Clause 2 modifies the principal Act and defines the terms which have to be followed and which indeed make up a game of multiple bingo. Clause 3 allows the Secretary of State to make regulations with respect to the management and conduct of games of multiple bingo. As your Lordships will be aware, Clause 4 covers offences and enforcement. In actual fact it draws multiple bingo into the provisions of the principal Act. Clause 5 covers the Short Title and commencement.
Perhaps I may briefly say a few words on the commencement. Before they bring the Act into force the Government will be in very close touch with the Gaming Board on this matter and will ensure that the organisers of this particular form of bingo will get their act together in a manner which is entirely suitable. Some noble Lords may be concerned that if the prize money is upped, the penalties should be adjusted. By virtue of the principal Act the powers of the Gaming Board are positively draconian. If one peruses paragraph 2 of the schedule, one sees that the only test which the Gaming Board needs to apply in deciding whether to withdraw a licence is to decide whether the applicant is capable of or diligent in securing the provisons of the principal Act. It is nothing other than that and it is a very hard test indeed. The efficacy of this form of self-regulation is demonstrated by the fact that, if I recall correctly, no licence has been withdrawn in the industry since the passing of the 1968 Act.
This is a very modest little measure and I commend it to your Lordships. I want to stress that the vast majority—some 85 per cent.—of the people who play this game are women, and their average age is 52. It is not so much the gaming aspect that matters, but rather the social aspect. That was demonstrated in a survey which was carried out some time ago. It showed that many of the members of bingo clubs turn up a long time before the commencement of the game itself purely in order to socialise with fellow members of the club. It provides a form of companionship, relaxation and, indeed, opportunity for women to get out of the house. It is supported throughout the country by husbands who might, for instance, object to their 967 wives going dancing, going to pubs or indulging in any other occupation outside the house. This is a very useful measure and should enjoy the support of your Lordships' House. My Lords, I beg to move.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, the House will recall that in introducing this Bill the noble Lord, Lord Morris noted with admiration the mental agility of various ladies who had six cards in front of them and operated them at the same time as discussing the relative merits of their spouses or members of their families. I should like to tell the noble Lord that the House has an equal admiration for his mental agility in the way in which he presented this Bill to your Lordships. It is a matter with which this House is familiar because the noble Lord, Lord Harmar-Nicholls, tried to introduce a similar measure. I want the noble Lord to know that I have carried out enough research to know that this is known as link bingo. With regard to link bingo, the noble Lord, Lord Harmar-Nicholls, dealt with allowing the various clubs to join together on a regional or national basis in order that the monies could be pooled—the present limit I believe being £3,000 a week—although allowing the linking obviously made it impracticable for clubs to be able to attract on that basis.
The noble Lord, Lord Morris, was quite right in saying that anything that can achieve a useful and enjoyable leisure activity for our citizens ought to be encouraged. In debates that have taken place in this House on other matters we have all said that sufficient thought is not given to leisure activities, whether for the young or the not so young. If it be true, as one knows it is true, that many lonely ladies and a few lonely gentlemen too, find a great deal of harmless pleasure in playing bingo, one wants to assist the bingo industry, which I believe is having rather a bad time at the moment. The purpose of this Bill is to give the industry a better time and the people who play bingo a more enjoyable leisure activity. Therefore personally, because that is the way one treats Private Bills, I should like to say from this position that we support the measure and we are glad to see that in another place this measure was supported by the Government.
I should like to ask one question. I noted that in the other place the Minister of State at the Home Office, Mr. Giles Shaw, who was dealing with the matter, said at col. 8 of Standing Committee C on 24th April: We wish to ensure that special arrangements will be made for clubs to take advantage of the Bill. We hope that the arrangements will be ready by the end of the year so that matters can proceed. I should like to ask the noble Lord the Minister whether that is still the position and it is hoped that by the end of the year matters can proceed, because by that time all the suitable arrangements with the Gaming Board can be made. From these Benches, as I have said, but on a personal basis, we welcome the measure.

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Morris has explained why the bingo industry wants 968 this Bill, and the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, has amplified what he said. It may be helpful if I confirm at the outset that we understand the difficulties facing bingo clubs and we support the modest measure of relaxation in the gaming law which the Bill achieves.
In saying that, I cannot do otherwise than refer, as indeed the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, did, to my noble friend Lord Harmar-Nicholls, whose Bill on the same subject found favour with your Lordships only two years ago. The interval has been used profitably to hold discussions between representatives of the bingo clubs, the Gaming Board and the Home Office, and the Bill is the result of those discussions. From them has emerged a method of allowing bingo clubs to play joint games for much larger prizes—up to £50,000—which at the same time does not ignore the fact that as a form of commercial gaming bingo could be subject to abuse. It is because the Bill balances relaxations in the Gaming Act 1968 with safeguards and a continuing role for the gaming board that we are able to support the Bill today.
The decline in the number of bingo clubs has provided the motivation for the Bill. A number of factors may explain the declining popularity of the game over the last 10 years or so. It is not obvious that the Government should intervene to help simply because of the declining popularity of one form of gaming, but we have been struck by two considerations. The first is that we can draw on the benefit of over 15 years of experience of bingo being played in accordance with the Gaming Act 1968 to assess which of the statutory restrictions really do need to be applied to bingo today. The Gaming Act 1968 was a response to the problems which had come about in the '60s when commercial gaming had found loopholes in the existing gaming law. The purpose of the 1968 Act was to purge commercial gaming of the criminal elements which had moved in, to keep the scale of activity within manageable limits, and to ensure that gaming was honestly conducted in decent surroundings.
Casinos, rightly, caught the brunt of this approach but bingo clubs themselves had not been free of problems and they too were made subject to a strict regime of control. Thus bingo is licensed and may take place only in accordance with detailed requirements. Members of the public may not play bingo, for example, on a whim striking them while passing by a bingo club. They must become members 24 hours beforehand.
The amount of money they can be asked to pay in admission and fees to participate in the games is subject to a ceiling and there are controls effectively preventing the bingo clubs from opening round the clock. The level of prizes is directly or indirectly controlled. It is right that against this background we should look critically at whether each and every restriction on bingo is essential in order to maintain the success of the 1968 legislation.
The idea of joint games of bingo which my noble friend has proposed—is not new. The principle is already recognised in the existing law in the provisions for what is termed—and the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, referred to this—linked bingo. Nearly 300 clubs already take part in linked bingo as a means of boosting attendances. But prizes, as the noble Lord, 969 Lord Mishcon, rightly said, are limited to £3,000 in any week and the game must be played precisely simultaneously in all clubs. These controls mean that very few links comprise more than five clubs joining together. The purpose of the Bill is to allow bingo clubs to join together on a much larger scale, taking advantage of the possibilities of a computer link—on which I know my noble friend is particularly keen—and to allow prizes of up to £50,000.
Our second consideration has been the evidence that bingo clubs provide a useful and valued social and leisure facility for particular sections of the community. We recognise that many of the country's bingo players are of limited means and are potentially vulnerable. So while we are prepared to see concessions in the law which might help clubs stay open we would not allow this at the cost of seeing players encouraged to gamble excessively with little hope of winning. We want bingo to remain a relatively modest form of gambling without excessive stakes, and with clubs retaining their neighbourly and social character.
How does the Bill achieve this balance? It does so by defining multiple bingo as games played within a specified period rather than precisely at the same time. This means that clubs up and down the country can come together to play multiple bingo and pool the aggregate stake money in order to offer bigger and consequently more attractive prizes. But the Bill does not say, "Let the bingo clubs get on with it" from that point onwards. There are three types of safeguards built into the Bill.
First, the Bill itself sets down some of the parameters for multiple bingo. No prize may exceed £50,000 and promoters may not throw in their own money to boost the prizes. All the prize money will be stake money. It will not be possible to offer just one prize nationally—there will in addition have to be either regional or house prizes, or both. Nor will it be possible to stimulate custom by posting aggressive advertisements on the outside of club premises. The Bill prevents clubs from advertising the size of multiple bingo prizes in displays visible from the outside the clubs participating in the game.
Secondly, the Bill provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations dealing with some of the more nuts and bolts questions about the game. If, after consulting with the Gaming Board, the Home Secretary judges that the maximum stake should be confined to a certain modest figure, that can be done.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the Bill makes a key innovation in identifying the organiser as the person having the central management of games of multiple bingo and makes him responsible for the fair and proper conduct of such games. Under the powers set out in the schedule, the would-be organiser must subject himself to the scrutiny of the Gaming Board setting out the arrangements he will make for linking the bingo clubs together and obtain a certificate from the board. The board will not award such a certificate unless it is fully satisfied that taking account of his character, reputation and financial standing—and that of his fellow directors in the case of a company—and his arrangements for playing the game, an applicant is able and willing to comply with the law and ensure the fair and proper conduct of the game.
970 I am sure that the board will want to look closely not only at the steps taken to ensure the efficient organisation of the game but also the precautions taken to guard against the possibility of computer fraud. All this is backed by the powers of entry given by the Bill to Gaming Board inspectors in relation to all the premises used in multiple bingo. Once the game is underway, the Gaming Board will be able to revoke a certificate if it ceases to be satisfied that all is well with the games being played. These sanctions are in addition to those available under the Gaming Act or the Theft Act.
We hope that mutiple bingo will serve to give licensed bingo the boost it is looking for. But these controls should mean that it will achieve that success by remaining a game in which players part with a relatively modest sum in stakes and other charges. The Bill may help instead by making possible a reversal in the trend of declining attendance and the closure of clubs and not convert bingo halls into something more akin to casinos.
The noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, asked me a question about timing. Basically, the position that he described is still the case. We hope to have regulations in place by the end of the year. Implementation, of course, will depend upon the success of the talks between the Gaming Board and the would-be organisers, but so far as we can tell, all is on course.
I thought it useful to get on to the record some of the more salient safeguards that this Bill includes. Clearly, further homework will be needed in collaboration between the Home Office, the Gaming Board and representatives of the bingo clubs before the regulations which I have just described can be introduced. The Government are satisfied that the Bill provides a proper framework in which games of multiple bingo may be played and I commend it to your Lordships in the hands of my noble friend.

Lord Morris
My Lords. I am most grateful not only to my noble friend but to the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, for supporting this measure. It says a great deal for the intellectual agility and indeed elegance of the noble Lord, Lord Mishcon, and of my noble friend, Lord Glenarthur, that in the course of a few moments in one afternoon they could handle both bingo and sexual offences. The support that the Government have given to this small measure indicates their understanding of the social importance of this, in a sense, very modest game. I welcome that most strongly.